Thanks for the reviews. I was so happy to hear that this fic reminds some of you of the show! Here is where things get Lost-ier, as I put you out of your misery and reveal the identity of the unseen them... (a.k.a My theory about who might be on the freighter). You'll all read it and go "Ohhh...Why didn't I think of that?" I actually thought it would be really obvious. ;)

Chapter 8. Consequences

While Kate could tell that Jack was distracted, tensing each time the door opened and one of the nurses entered the room, his resolve to protect her and their son wasn't strong enough for him to send them home, not now that he'd seen what he was missing.

"I wanna know everything about him," he told her, still watching J.J. with an affectionate smile, as if he were trying to commit every detail to memory, gripping him under the arms and pulling him back when it looked like he might try to crawl over the side of the mattress. "About when you were pregnant, the day he was born, his life so far..."

"I thought you might," she agreed, sliding off the bed and retrieving her purse. "That's why I made you these." She took out one of the albums, and spread it across his knees. "I only have the first two, but I'll bring some more tomorrow. That way you should be all caught up by the time you get out of here."

She tried to keep her tone bright as she climbed back up next to him, opening the book to the first page, but she could see the sorrow in his eyes as he studied their son's first picture, tracing the pale blur in the middle of the print out with his index finger. It was a nice thought, but it could never make up for all that lost time.

"I was so nervous that day," she confessed, snuggling back into him so that they could look at the album together. "I had no idea what to expect, and the only other person I could think to call was Sun, so I told my dad, and he flew out for the appointment. He was pissed off at me, but when he saw J.J…
"Since then, he's been amazing. He moved out here so I wouldn't have to give up school after the baby was born."

"I'm glad you had someone to take care of you," he said, his voice soft and bitter as he turned the page. "I'd hate to think of you going through that alone."

She wasn't sure what to say to that, how to comfort him, so she slid the arm closest to him around him, hugging him as she continued to explain what he was looking at.

"And that's me getting really fat," she told him when they came to a picture her father had taken of her, around the fifth month, when anyone could tell that she was pregnant. She'd tried to keep that fact hidden for as long as she could, afraid that someone would put two and two together, but nothing happened. "I think I put on about ten pounds in the first couple of months," she joked, and he laughed.

"You weren't fat, you were just as beautiful as ever. I'm sorry I wasn't around to remind you of that."

"Maybe next time," she said, and he frowned.

"Maybe."

It took them several hours to get through both albums, from her first sonogram, to the end of their son's fourth week of life, while J.J. alternated between grabbing at the edges, trying to put them in his mouth, and falling asleep across their laps.

She let Jack feed him when the time came, loving how gentle and earnest he was as he coaxed him into opening up, but by the afternoon, all the excitement had proved too much for him, so, after a prolonged goodbye, she took him back, bouncing him on her hip to settle him as she gathered up her purse.

When she looked up, Jack was smiling at them, a smile she'd never seen before.

"What?" she asked him, returning his grin, self-conscious all of a sudden.

"I just never saw you as a mom before," he admitted, and she wasn't sure how to take this: was it because she was an ex con? Or because he thought she was too flighty and selfish? Or did he just have limited imagination?

"Thanks," she replied, unable to hide the note of sarcasm in her tone, and he let out a soft chuckle in response.

"It wasn't an insult, Kate," he assured her, taking her hand and squeezing it. "When I saw you at the airport, I couldn't believe how together you were. You didn't even seem like the same person. I just… get it now. You became what he needed you to be."

"And you will too," she agreed as she leant down to kiss him goodbye. "But right now, you need to rest, so we can take you home." She kissed him again, longer this time, then, squeezing J.J.'s foot, he let them go, settling back against the pillows.

"We'll see you tomorrow, Daddy," she teased him at the door; he repeated the word, testing it out with a lop-sided grin, and she had to duck out of the room before they both started getting emotional again.

Their visit had lifted his spirits higher than she ever could have hoped for, and she was glad that she'd decided to bring their son along. "Good job," she told him, smiling and planting an affectionate kiss on the top of his head as they made their way down to the car park.

She wasn't sure how things were going to work when he got discharged, whether they would continue to meet alone, or as a family, but at that moment, she was just relieved that she didn't have to keep secrets from him anymore.

And that he was as in love with their son as she was, maybe even more, since he was still basking in that new parent glow.

By the time they got out of the lift, J.J. had drifted off with his cheek pressed to her shoulder; she was trying to transfer him to his car seat without incurring his wrath for waking him when she became aware of a presence behind her.

"Cute kid you've got there," someone said, and she turned to see a man in lab coat standing in the empty space beside hers, watching her.

"Uh, thanks," she told him with a weak smile, speeding up her efforts to buckle J.J. in. She wasn't sure why, but something about the stranger creeped her out. Maybe it was because he didn't seem to have a car.

"It'd be a shame if something were to happen to him," he continued, and she froze, rounding on him.

"Just so we're clear, are you threatening my son?"

"Of course not," he assured her with a mirthless chuckle. "I just know some folks who could find plenty of uses for a child that young and impressionable."

"You're one of them," she realised with a sense of slow dawning horror. "D.H.A.R.M.A. They sent you to spy on us."

He let out another forced laugh, but the smile that followed didn't reach his eyes. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Kate. I'm just a lab technician. I'm filling in here for a couple of days, then I'll be heading back over to St. Sebastian's." He enunciated the name carefully, as if to make sure that they were on the same page.

"So you're watching us," she repeated, pulling her son back out of the car, and hugging him to her chest. The sudden movement woke him up, and he began to whimper, warming up for the main event. "What do you want?"

"We want you to end your relationship with Dr. Shephard – no emails, no phone calls, no visits… No more rendezvous at motels."

"Why?" she retorted, trying not to let him see how shaken she was that they knew about these meetings, that in spite of their precautions, they hadn't fooled anyone but themselves.

"Because that's the deal you made to get off that island."

"And if I don't?"

"As I said, it'd be a shame if something were to happen to your boy," he reminded her, and her stomach clenched into a painful knot as he confirmed her deepest fears.

So that was their game: they were appealing to her emotions, making her choose, assuming that they understood her. It was like the marshal all over again.

"We're very interested in human behaviour, Kate – nature versus nurture, that sort of thing. It's not easy to find parents willing to subject their children to experiments of that kind, so we take them from wherever we can."

She wasn't sure whether his use of the word "take" was deliberate, but either way, the message was clear.

"You have twenty four-hours," he concluded as he turned back towards the lift. "Go, see your boyfriend, tell him whatever you have to get him to leave you alone, because the next time we catch you betraying our agreement, there will be consequences."

Next chapter: Kate goes to see Jack again, but will she listen to her new friend, or tell him the truth? ;)